


sunsets and barrettes

by question mark (woahpoggers)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abandoned Building, Other, POV First Person, Romance, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27888064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woahpoggers/pseuds/question%20mark
Summary: who doesn't love exploring an abandoned building with your nervous boyfriend
Relationships: unspecified
Kudos: 2





	sunsets and barrettes

“I don’t like this.”

I sigh and turn around, shoulders slumping. “We’ve talked about this, Jeremy. It’s abandoned, the cops never come here anymore, we will be fine.” Jeremy fidgets with his hands for a moment before sighing and stepping forward. I turn back towards the building. The bare cement walls are covered in layers of graffiti, none of it readable. Inside there’s an empty elevator shaft and piles of construction materials. I look around for a flight of stairs, finding it behind the elevator shaft. Jeremy walks close to me, testing every step before he takes it. The second floor is much less cluttered, only a few piles of plywood littered across the floor.

“Why do you think they stopped construction?” Jeremy asks.

“There were always rumours of ghosts haunting this land. They say the foundations were built on a native graveyard.” I shine a flashlight at my face from below, creating exaggerated shadows. He looks at me nervously, and I give a short laugh, deciding to shine the flashlight around the room instead. I hear the faint rustle of a plastic bag behind me, and turn to see Jeremy opening up our bag of trail mix. I know the sweet M&Ms calm him down, so I don’t tease him for leaving all the salty nuts. As he pops a red one into his mouth I spot a ladder on the wall.

“Think it leads to the roof?” I ask, shining the light up.  
“I don’t see any stairs,” Jeremy says. I shrug and put the flashlight in my pocket. Grabbing a rung I pull myself up, climbing into a small room. With the light I spot a metal door, the handle not yet installed. I help Jeremy up before pushing the door. It opens onto a cement rooftop, fencing lying about in haphazard piles. The sunset is framing Jeremy perfectly, highlighting the red in his hair. He looks at me, finally calm, and smiles. I smile back and stare for a few more moments until a small flash of colour behind him catches my eye. I walk toward it, using the light of the setting sun to guide me. Crouching down, I see a button with four holes, one you would sew onto a jacket for decoration. I can’t tell the exact colour in the low light, but I’ve always been a bit colour blind, so I ask Jeremy.

“Lady-bug red,” he says, “my favourite colour.” I pick it up and dust it off, inspecting it. I glance at Jeremy for a moment before reaching into my satchel. He always teases me for it, my emergency bag. I have the usual, a small first aid kit, a flashlight, a pocket knife. But ever since becoming friends with Jeremy I’ve started keeping little things for him. Hair barrettes, for example. He loves them. I’ve got all kinds of colours, even tie-dye ones. I also keep strong glue in my satchel and some markers. I used to tag buildings all the time, but now Jeremy uses the markers to doodle on our arms. I grab a gray barrette and the glue, ignoring Jeremy’s questioning gaze. I glue the red button onto the barrette and wait for it to dry. I turn to Jeremy, raising my hand to push his hair back from his face. He stays silent, allowing me to put the barrette in place.

“For memories,” I whisper. He smiles, cupping my face in his hands. In the twilight, on the rooftop of an abandoned building, we kiss.


End file.
